Assassin of the Heart: Book Two: The Temple Islands Series

by Richard Parker

  The Toranado Queen stood as they moved closer, her eyes sparkling with delight as she walked over and embraced Gwaynn lightly.

  “Welcome cousin,” she said softly in his ear, then took a step back and looked up into his face. “You have your father’s strong looks.”

  Gwaynn nodded. “So Master Sath keeps reminding me.”

  The Queen then turned and greeted Sath and Zarina Jess na Gall, who she knew slightly from several past visits. Her interest in the Traveler, however, was now much sharper.

  “Tearrio informed us of the attack on Light,” she commented, clearly distressed. “Is it true you and Zarina Monde are the only Travelers to survive?”

  “Unfortunately it is,” na Gall answered.

  “Are there many prospects in the student ranks?” Ramona asked and was intrigued by the fact that na Gall glanced at Prince Gwaynn before answering.

  “Precious few,” was all Jess would reveal.

  Ramona sighed, wondering why the Traveler chose to run to Massi when the country was occupied and quickly heading toward open conflict. Toranado would have been a better choice, at least at the time the decision was made. Now it seemed both countries were on the road to war.

  “And you are?’ She asked admiring the tall, handsome young man before her.

  “Weapons Master Krys Logan,” he answered with a low bow.

  “Weapons Master?” she asked and looked questioningly to both Gwaynn and Afton Sath. Sath deferred to Gwaynn.

  “In our present situation,” he said calmly. “It would seem prudent to have as many fighters as possible.”

  “Well said,” the fit man said standing up.

  “This is General Pachout,” Ramona introduced then added, “and my eldest son Phillip.”

  There were handshakes all around with Pachout paying particular attention to Gwaynn.

  “Have you fled from Massi?” he asked flatly.

  Gwaynn frowned, aware of the disrespectful nature of the question. Krys immediately placed his hand on the hilt of his right kali, a move that did not go unnoticed by any in the room. Pachout’s eyes widened slightly, and he took a step back. He was a seasoned warrior with an aggressive nature. He was fearless in battle and a brilliant swordsman, but even he would not purposefully provoke a fight with a Weapons Master trained on Noble. He bowed slightly.

  “No disrespect intended,” he added prudently but still without fear. He was, however, much more mindful of his tongue and kept a close eye on Krys Logan.

  “We have not fled,” Gwaynn answered, calmly moving forward and placing a hand on Krys’ forearm. “We’ve come…”

  “You’ve come to ask for my aid,” Ramona interrupted, and Gwaynn’s attention shifted to her.

  “Yes,” he answered.

  Ramona smiled. “It is well,” she said. “An alliance would be beneficial to both our peoples, but now is not the time for negotiations. Outside is an envoy from Cassinni and I have kept them waiting for too long. Join me for sup this evening.”

  Gwaynn wanted to protest and was about to, when Sath suddenly appeared at his elbow. Gwaynn smiled to himself and immediately grew calm. He bowed. “As you wish,” he answered, straightening and looking directly into the Queen of Toranado’s eyes.

  She tipped her head slightly. “Sanja will show you to your rooms where you may wait in comfort.”

  “Until tonight then,” Gwaynn added, then without another word followed the steward from the room.

  They were barely out of the audience chamber when Pachout turned to his Queen.

  “He’s very controlled for one so young,” the General commented.

  “He was trained on Noble…three of them trained on Noble,” Phillip added, clearly impressed by the fact.

  “Formidable,” Pachout agreed.

  “Yes, we will in all likelihood need them…soon,” the Queen said with a thoughtful look. Yes, three trained on Noble could be very formidable indeed, even more so if they were able to muster any support from the Massi populace.

  “You think they could be of help then?” Pachout asked, clearly skeptical.

  Ramona shrugged. “Possibly, if only for a Deutzani diversion.”

  “We should aid them,” Phillip interjected. “Even if the Palmerrio are bluffing, I would rather have a Massi Kingdom on our borders. I don’t trust the Deutzani, especially now that the High King has gone and married one.”

  Pachout nodded. “There is that. The little bitch may have a cock hold on old Mastoc, whispering rotten plans into his ear as he takes her.”

  Phillip laughed at the thought, but Ramona just frowned at the General’s crudeness.

  “Yes,” she said. “Massi allies may be a great help.” She sat silent for a long while, thinking, wondering why all of this had to happen during her rule. She knew little of war, and wished that Admiral Cantu were by her side. She found just the thought of him to be calming.

  “One thing is sure, however,” she added almost absently. “The Traveler must agree to stay in Eno.”

  ǂ

  Their rooms were located on the third floor of the palace, a floor below the royal family, but close enough so that they could arrive quickly if summoned. Tucked away at the very end of a long corridor, the four rooms surrounded a large open-air courtyard, which contained a small garden and an elegant marble fountain, carved into the shape of four small children launching a sailboat. Each room included a small but comfortable bed, a writing desk and a chest of drawers that sported a porcelain water basin on top. There was also a small fireplace along one wall and two overstuffed chairs. Fires were already lit in all the rooms. The accommodations were warm and inviting, especially after the past weeks spent exposed to the elements. And though the weather was much warmer on the coast, the palace was large and drafty, so instead of sitting out in the courtyard the group gathered into what would become Gwaynn’s room.

  Sath and Jess currently occupied the chairs and were both bent over a chessboard placed on a small table between them. Gwaynn stood with his back to them, staring out into the courtyard, thinking of Samantha and wondering what she was doing. He knew his mind should be on larger, more important issues, but the harder he tried to banish her, the more she seemed to take up residence in his thoughts. Krys alternated between watching the chess match and pacing about the room nervously.

  “We’re just supposed to wait here?” Krys asked for the second time. Sath looked up at him briefly, but na Gall was threatening his queen so his attention didn’t waver very long. Gwaynn and the Traveler gave no indication that they’d even heard him. Krys sighed and stood once more. He moved to stand by Gwaynn.

  “Relax,” Gwaynn said. “It may be the last day any of us get like this for a while.”

  Krys flopped on the bed and tried to do as his Prince suggested, but he was soon up and pacing once more, he’d not quite made a full circuit of the room when there was a sharp knock on the door. It opened without invitation and Prince Phillip strolled into the room.

  He gave them a genuine smile and Gwaynn found that he liked the Toranado Prince.

  Phillip took their situation in quickly. “Ah, as bored as I am I’d wager,” he said rapidly moving farther into the room.

  “Checkmate!” na Gall said and everyone turned and looked down at the board.

  “Excellent,” Phillip commented. Sath scowled but conceded victory to the Traveler.

  “Now he’ll be crabby for the rest of the day,” Gwaynn added with a wry smile.

  “Not crabby,” Jess teased, and her smile lit up the room. All the men were instantly struck by her beauty.

  “He’s always crabby when he loses at chess,” Gwaynn insisted.

  “Ha,” Sath said standing, “you could rarely beat me.”

  “True enough, but my sister could.”

  “Yes, it seems beautiful women are my downfall,” the old man added. “They distract me.” He smiled ruefully at na Gall, then glanced at Phillip. “And what can we do for you?”

  Phillip shrugg
ed. “I was free and wondered if you would like the royal tour of my fair city.”

  Gwaynn smiled at the use of the word ‘my,’ but said nothing. He looked at Krys who was nearly busting with desire to accept. He did, however, manage to defer to his Prince. Jess was also clearly interested in the prospect and when Sath gave him slight nod, Gwaynn agreed.

  Eno was a beautiful, bustling seaport but despite all the activity there was a relaxed feeling to both the atmosphere and the people. They rode to all the interesting corners of the city in a large, elegant carriage, but they disembarked to enjoy the public gardens, the museums, and the largest library outside of Lato. They even sauntered about the dockyards. Gwaynn was truly impressed with the size and number of the Toranado warships. He knew their navy was the largest of any in the Inland Sea, but knowing and seeing were often two different things.

  The day, which had languished in the morning, now passed very quickly and they had to rush back to the palace grounds to make their dinner engagement. They had very little time to freshen up before Sanja led them to the formal dining hall.

  The hall was overflowing with people. Nobles from all over Toranado, plus the Ambassadors from Rhondono and Cassinni, and a myriad of local military men were already present.

  “I hear my son has been hauling you all over the city,” Ramona said as they approached her, and though the hall was crowded neither Gwaynn nor Sath missed the fact that lining the walls were more than twenty guards standing at attention. Sath frowned at Gwaynn but said nothing.

  “He was most gracious,” Gwaynn answered.

  Ramona laughed. “Gracious…Phillip! Well I’m happy he was so entertaining,” she added. She introduced Gwaynn all around as if he were a pet, displayed to surprise the other guests; a pet with no special talent, but one that amazed nonetheless by the simple fact that he existed at all. Gwaynn did not mind truly, but he’d been under the assumption that the dinner would be small and he’d have a private audience with the Toranado Queen. But apparently that was not to be. The food was delicious and served in great quantities and Gwaynn for the most part was the center of attention, though at times he had to share the spotlight with Jess na Gall.

  “We had several reports that the entire Massi noble family was killed in the war with the Deutzani,” mentioned Helix Snarrenberg, the Ambassador from the Rhondono, who was sitting directly across from Gwaynn.

  “They tried,” Gwaynn answered after he’d taken a drink of an excellent light wine. “My father and brothers were killed in battle, but my sister and mother were killed by the executioner Navarra.”

  “Executed?” Danielle Vosser, the wife of the Cassinni ambassador asked, very surprised. She was a short, dainty, middle-aged woman who at one time was obviously beautiful, but now her face was beginning its downward turn caused by age and worry. She sat on Gwaynn’s left. She ate very little, only picking bits from the many courses, but she drank near continuously. How she managed not to get roaring drunk was a mystery to Gwaynn, especially when her size was considered. “But surely the High King….”

  “The High King knew,” Gwaynn interrupted. “His Temple Knights were in Massi, fighting with the Deutzani.”

  Those around Gwaynn, who heard the declaration, sat in stunned silence. There was still talk near the far end of the table, but it gradually died out as they realized something was amiss.

  “Come now,” Adrian Vosser, the long time Cassinni ambassador spoke up, a tinge of anger in his voice. “The High King would not…”

  Gwaynn, though he was thirty years the man’s junior, rounded on him immediately, necessarily confident in his own judgment. He cared little for what the ambassador believed; the assumptions of his elders had let him down many times in the past. “The High King would…and did. Were you in Massi during the invasion Ambassador Vosser?” Gwaynn asked politely. His manner was calm for one so young, and it unnerved the Ambassador a little.

  “No,” Adrian replied a little haltingly, everyone at the table was now following the conversation closely. “I was not.” To be honest Adrian and his wife rarely left Eno except when it was absolutely necessary to return to Cassinni, and even then they returned to the Toranado city as soon as they were able. If either thought about it truthfully they would realize that Eno was much more of a home to them now than their own country.

  Gwaynn looked directly into the Ambassador’s eyes and held his gaze for several long moments. “I tell you this now Ambassador, not out of some political motive; it’s too late for the Cassinni to help the Massi people at any rate. I tell you this now, so that you will know the truth, and perhaps spread the word. The Temple Knights were in Massi. They fought against my father and family. The High King knows.”

  A quiet descended over the table so deep that for a time it seemed impossible for any present to break it. Most were staring at Gwaynn as if he had committed a major social gaff, but Sath and Krys were looking at their Prince proudly. Jess na Gall wore a hint of a smile, thinking perhaps Samantha was lucky Gwaynn was so young, for she found his confident manner very attractive indeed. The only other person at the table who was watching young Gwaynn with admiration was the Toranado Prince, Phillip.

  “Come, my Cousin,” Phillip’s mother, the Queen finally said in a low voice, breaking the silence with effort.

  Gwaynn turned to her and gave her a radiant smile. Ramona could not help but smile back.

  “Let us eat and enjoy ourselves now,” she said and motioned for the stewards to refill the wine glasses. “We have time to discuss such things.”

  Gwaynn placed his own glass gently on the table. “You are correct…my Cousin,” he began. “There is still time…still time for the Toranado to help the Massi people.”

  Ramona gave Gwaynn a hard look, though her eyes flickered briefly to the Rhondono Ambassador. “Perhaps,” she replied, “but now is not the time. Now is the time for eating.”

  “But Mother,” Phillip said a little too loudly, but Ramona held up a hand to squelch his protest. “Later!” She commanded, looking from her son to Gwaynn and back. Gwaynn gave the slightest nod.

  “Later then,” he agreed and again picked up his glass and took a small sip, before turning back to Danielle Vosser and asking her a harmless question about her childhood home in Cassinni.

  The rest of the evening marched on uneventfully and Gwaynn was disappointed when the Queen retired from the room without further word for him or his companions.

  “Well, I guess I didn’t handle that all too well,” he said as his group made its way back to their private rooms.

  “Do not be too sure of that,” na Gall answered, but Krys just laughed.

  “Did you see Ambassador Vosser’s face?” he asked. “I don’t think he would have been more surprised if you suddenly started eating from his plate.”

  Gwaynn smiled. “I don’t know if he believed me.”

  “He believed you,” Sath said, and placed his hand on Gwaynn’s shoulder. “I…”

  He stopped talking as a messenger hurried up the hall toward them. The young boy stopped and gave a stiff bow. “The Queen requests your presence,” he said and immediately began to lead them back in the direction they’d just come. The boy hurried, nearly running, and Gwaynn and the others found that they were all inclined to try to match the young man’s pace. He led them, not to the audience chamber, but to the Queen’s private rooms. They were immediately shown into a large sitting room, filled with many chairs, a piano and several fireplaces, though only one contained a small fire. Gwaynn caught sight of a large four-poster bed with a draping of light green shears in one of the back rooms.

  “Cousin.” The Queen said, not rising but holding out a hand in greeting. Gwaynn walked forward, bowed and placed a quick kiss on the back of her extended hand. Phillip, who was standing directly behind her, gave Gwaynn a quick nod and a rueful smile. Also present were Admiral Cantu and the Weapons Master Tabernas.

  After greetings were exchanged, the Queen signaled for Gwaynn and his party
to be seated.

  “Young Prince,” she said, with just a bit of scorn in her voice, “you will need to learn that there are times and places for negotiations, and a public dinner is not one of them.”

  Gwaynn felt the beginnings of anger, but he quickly squelched it, for deep in his heart, he knew she was correct. He nodded, but said nothing.

  In a moment the Queen continued. “I had no wish to speak of matters before the Rhondono Ambassador. We are trying hard to woo them to our side. Surrounded on nearly all sides as they are by the Palmerrio, they could be a significant ally if the current situation escalates to violence.”

  Gwaynn frowned, wondering how it was that no other leader in the Inland Sea appeared to grasp this point. “It has already escalated into violence,” Gwaynn commented simply.

  “Yes,” said Phillip. “I’ve been telling Mother that since you arrived.”

  Ramona waved for her son to be quiet and Cantu gave him a sharp look. Phillip, though young and exuberant, would have to learn to temper his mouth. Over the past year the Queen allowed him to join in with the council meetings hoping he might gain a little subtlety, but her young son found it a difficult lesson to learn. She might have chalked it up to age, but the Massi Prince was nearly half a dozen years Phillip’s junior and already carried himself with far more control.

  “We’ve come to form an alliance with you,” Krys added, showing his own age. “We’ve no interest in an alliance with the Rhondono.”

  “Yes,” Ramona replied though she never took her eyes from Gwaynn, “but we do. It is no longer a question of just the Massi. We have our own people to consider.”

  Gwaynn bowed his head in acknowledgement, and again the Toranado Queen was struck by his calm manner, something he did not inherit from his father to be sure. Arnot was strong and sure, but very opinionated and painfully honest with his own thoughts and feelings. Though a terror on the battlefield, he lacked Gwaynn’s apparent thoughtfulness.